Does this look like a PBK catalog to YOU?

About a year ago, I remember getting a Pottery Barn Kids catalog in the mail one day. As I started to flip through it, noticing the neat, organized kids' rooms, I began to feel something like self-pity growing inside. Why can't my house look like that? About this time, someone yelled,"Mom! I need a plunger! "and someone else needed a new diaper . As I tried to walk upstairs, I stepped over Legos and army men. The pity party continued.

I could hear God's voice : Be thankful. You have a godly, hard-working husband who loves you and your kids, a home that is safe and plenty big enough, money for groceries...the list goes on...and on. I was surprised at how quickly I could forget all of God's blessings, how I could obsess over such little, unimportant things. Chris and I saw the movie "Courageous" a few months ago, and the main character's words still come to mind pretty often: When we get to the end of our lives, will we discover that so much of what occupied our time here was not of eternal value?

So.what is of eternal value? Time with our families, time with the Lord, service to those in need. Pottery Barn Kids? I'll just venture a guess and say "Nah."

Check out my Mother's Day post from May of last year for other ways God has used my kids to teach me things about Him.